Lisa Pugh, the Director of The ARC Wisconsin, is leading a class for self-advocates this spring with Sydney Badeau, a great self-advocate leader. There is a cost to the course, but all Family Care organizations and IRIS agencies are funding it! Registration for the HealthMatters™ spring course closes April 1. It is five one-hour classes delivered monthly (there are 2 monthly times to participate to fit into someone’s schedule). Here is an overview of our 6 lessons:

• Lesson 1: What Does It Mean to Be Healthy?
• Lesson 2: Step Into Exercise
• Lesson 3: The Fab Five
• Lesson 4: How Much Food Is Too Much?
• Lesson 5: Benefits Healthy Eating Has on Our Bodies
• Lesson 6: Healthy Lifestyle Review

People who have used this course for in-person classes have lost weight, reduced BMI and blood pressure. And it is fun! Here is some basic helpful information to learn more or to share with your care manager or IRIS consultant: https://arcwi.org/the-arc-wisconsin-academy/

• Flyer: https://arcwi.org/content/uploads/sites/17/2021/01/21-009.06-WI-Health-Matters-Course-Flyer.pdf

• Detailed course booklet: https://arcwi.org/content/uploads/sites/17/2020/08/WI-The-Arc-Academy-Course-Description-booklet-3.pdf

• On-line registration: https://arcwi.org/the-arc-wisconsin-academy/#register

While Wisconsin has made progress in the vaccine rollout, disability advocates say some of the most vulnerable  people still face multiple challenges accessing it. Mixed messages about who is eligible has been confusing and when people are eligible, many are having problems making appointments due to not having broadband access. The Department of Health Services is working on developing an online portal for people to sign up for the vaccine when they're eligible. They also state that there is a phone option. Transportation is another barrier people are struggling with. They are having a hard time finding transportation to the appointment once it's set up. 

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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is opening a 30-day public comment period on its findings about home and community-based service long-term care settings that were identified for heightened scrutiny review. Review is needed to determine if these settings are truly home and community based and not institutional. This public comment period is in accordance with federal requirements.

DHS operates several home and community-based services long-term care programs under federal authority from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Medicaid waiver funding for these programs can only be used to support people living in community-based settings, and cannot be used to support someone who is living in an institution. Review is needed for settings that are located within another facility that provides inpatient treatment (like a skilled nursing facility), on the grounds of a public institution (like an inpatient facility that is financed and operated by a county, state, municipality, or other unit of government), or because of other factors that may lead to isolating some people from the broader community.

DHS has conducted a heightened scrutiny review process and determined there is enough evidence to show CMS that these settings are not institutional in nature and that they meet CMS’ compliance requirements. The evidence from the heightened scrutiny review is documented in “evidentiary summaries.”

Public comment is an opportunity to support or rebut information DHS obtained from its heightened scrutiny reviews of facility-submitted documentation and onsite visits.

Find more information about the public comment period, along with a list of the settings and their evidentiary summaries, on the DHS website.

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) at ACL has opened a new funding opportunity for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) Program on Blindness and Low Vision.

The purpose of the RERC program is to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act by conducting advanced engineering research on and development of innovative technologies that are designed to solve particular rehabilitation problems or to remove environmental barriers. RERCs also demonstrate and evaluate such technologies, facilitate service delivery system changes, stimulate the production and distribution of new technologies and equipment in the private sector, and provide training opportunities.

RERC on Blindness and Low Vision: This particular opportunity is for an RERC to conduct research and development activities toward technologies that will promote independence and community living among people with low vision and blindness.

View more details and application instructions.

Please visit the link above for more details about the grant opportunity and application process. This grant opportunity closes on April 19, 2021.

According to a new report, people with disabilities had far fewer problems with voting accessibility in 2020 than in 2012. The gap between disabled and non-disabled voters who experienced voting problems also narrowed significantly. About 75% of voters with disabilities used early voting or mail-in voting in 2020. 

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As health systems continue to test approaches to better health care quality, the delivery of person-centered care — defined as care that is guided by people's preferences, needs, and values — is key for health care system transformation. In a recent report, researchers analyzed responses to the question, “When thinking about your experiences with the health care system over the past year, how often were your preferences for care taken into account?" This will help to better understand how aging adults experience care, if their preferences are acknowledged, and whether their experiences vary by race and ethnicity, wealth and income, and/or insurance status.

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